"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps."

Monday, February 24, 2014

Happy Birthday Baby!

Gemma is almost ONE! We decided to celebrate her birthday a little early and at my in-laws house in Temple. All four of Nick’s grandparents live in Temple, along with an an Aunt and a cousin, plus its only a little over two hours away from Houston. That way more family could attend than if we had just had a party in Midland. My parents came up from Magnolia and brought my niece Kendall with them.

We kept the party super simple! The only thing that I planned ahead was ordering the cake and smash cake. The rest of the decorations and food, Nick and I picked up the morning of the party at Sam’s a and a local store! Nick’s mom donated the fruit and veggie platters, and the highlight was Chick-Fil-A lemon-aid. My favorite was the pom poms.

Isla was so excited to have her older cousin come! Nick’s sister and her family were supposed to come too, but they got sick at the last minute poor things. I’m so glad Kendall came so that Isla could have a playmate.

Gemma wore the same dress her big sister wore at her first birthday party! Its not a hand-me-down, it’s a new tradition.

I really tried to not overdo it on the food, but as usual there was too much and as usual, everyone ate too much!

The really great thing about having the party at my in-laws is that my Dad didn’t have a bed to sneak off to for a cat nap and accidentally sleep through the entire thing!

SMASH CAKE TIME!

My kids know exactly what to do around cake! Although, Gemma was much neater than her big sister .

All the kids joined in!

Love Isla’s face in this one!

And Gemma’s .

Both of Nick’s grandfathers and his dad. All FOUR of Nick’s grandparents are still alive, what an amazing blessing!

Afterwards we took the party inside to open presents and cards! Nick and I didn’t get her a single present… whoops! Bad parents.

After the presents everyone hung out and played and this tired mama may have taken a little cat nap of her own on the couch!

We finished off the day with Wann family pictures!

My parents took Isla and Kendall back to their hotel to swim so we had a very nice quiet afternoon with just Gemma afterwards.

We are so in love with out little treasure! She really is the sweetest little thing and has been the perfect baby. I hope she looks back on these pictures of her first birthday and knows that she was so loved. I’ll give a full update on her progress and development after her one year appointment on the 26th!

That is so cute! Even my daughter likes to wear her elder sister’s clothes. She will turn 13 this year and I am planning a princess themed party for her at one of the Chicago event venues. I will definitely share the pictures with you. It is also my husband’s birthday and so the celebration is going to be grand.